It's not easy to turn up free things to do when you're traveling -- lots of what's free for travelers has to be searched out, and time doesn't permit the scavenger hunt for those pennywise prizes. That's where travel guides come in: those who've been there already know what the free things to do around the world for travelers are. And About.com's assembled some of the best budgetless -- as in free -- things to do worldwide from its local Guides on the ground in far flung spots on the globe where you want to trot. Check it all out below...
Free Things to Do in Paris
© Kathleen Crislip
- 1. Visit Pere Lachaise cemetery, resting place of notable notables like Marcel Proust and Jim Morrison.
2. See free movies at Parc de la Villette.
3. Hit the Paris beach: volleyball-worthy sand on the Seine.
4. Fashion gawk: see what non-backpackers are wearing on aves Rue de Faubourg St. Honore and Avenue Montaigne. Wow.
5. Free Friday nights at the Louvre: just for those under 26.
Free Things to Do in London
© Kathleen Crislip
- 1. Hang out in Piccadilly Circus: perfect people-watching place.
2. Take the iToors Soho Podcast Tour: see some spots where famous scribblers wrote, misbehaved or almost starved in sometimes not-so-long-ago London.
3. Tour the Tower of London with a Yeoman Warder: yeah, free! You can get a bonus free tour, too.
4. See the British Museum: one of the world's best.
5. See street art in Covent Garden; hit a market: check out some photos from spots like Covent Garden and Borough Market before you go.
Bonus to your London budgeting: find out about the top budget London shopping spots for women. Read a backpacker's London travel guide, too.
Free Things to Do in Rome
James Martin, About.com's European expert, calls Italy home part-time, and though he's no cheapskate, he knows a thing or two about what to see and do in bella Roma. In James's great list of the usual spendthrift's sights (scaling the Spanish Steps, forays to the Forum), get a bonus factoid: an Italian fellow named Roberto Cercelletta makes $180,000 USD scooping a bit more than three coins from the Trevi Fountain annually.
Free Things to Do in Amsterdam
Yeah, so some (okay, all) of what you've heard that there is to do if you're walking on Amsterdam's wilder side are far from free. There's far more to this lovely city than the smoke and sin that get the notoriety, though, and About.com's resident Amsterdam expert, Shannon MacAllister, has put together a great list of free fun from her home in Amsterdam's Oud Zuid, like the free ferry over the IJ.
Free Things to Do in Barcelona
Londoner Damian Corrigan spent some time in Spain as a temporary expat, working in hostels and teaching English and finding out what you'll like in beautiful Barcelona, like visiting the fully functioning (yeah, as a hospital) and architecturally gorgeous Hospital de Sant Pau or when the Picasso Museum is free, not to mention the best free things to do in Madrid
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Urban Beaches in Europe
Not everything in life at the beach is free, but these urban beaches in Paris, Amsterdam, Prague and other gotta-stop spots offer free sun, sand, and sometimes swimming right in the heart of the city summer.
